Release pending share of taxes: CM Mann to Bhupender Yadav

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday flagged the case of immediate release of the pending share of taxes and Rural Development Fund (RDF) before the Union Minister Bhupender Yadav for making Punjab a frontrunner state in the country.

The Chief Minister, while addressing a workshop for effective paddy straw management here today, underscored the need for financial sustainability of the states to contribute to the socio-economic growth of the country. He said that the states must be empowered to play a bigger and more effective role in the development of the country. Bhagwant Mann said that for this the Union government must release the pending share of taxes and the Rural Development Fund (RDF).

The Chief Minister sought the kind intervention of the Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav to raise the issue at the appropriate forum. Describing paddy straw as an asset, he underlined the need for developing a sustainable mechanism for the management of the paddy straw burning menace. Bhagwant Mann said that it is a long pending issue of the entire northern region but the farmers lack any viable mechanism to manage Crops residue.